The Magic Misfits
10.0
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‘I adored Magic Misfits. This man is far too talented for my liking, and needs to be...
children
The Penultimate Peril (ASOUE #12)
8.4
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There is nothing to be found in the pages of these books but misery and despair. You still have time...
childrens fiction lemony snicket
OneStarReads (141 KP) rated The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1) in Books
Aug 13, 2018
However, my short and sweet review of this book is as such. I thought this book was a good start to a series. Yes, I found Lemony Snicket to be irritating, especially with him jokingly defining words every few paragraphs, but I was able to find this book charming enough to move onto the next one... Because I hadn't gotten annoyed yet. I probably remember this book fondly only because it was the first book, and not the sixth book in a series that was exactly like the first book, or the ninth, or the eleventh. This book was short and pleasant, as this series should have been.
The Dark
Jon Klassen and Lemony Snicket
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Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo but mostly it spends...
Maudlin Towers: Curse of the Werewolf Boy
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'We shall be detectives, Sponge!' exclaimed Mildew. 'We shall solve the Mystery of the School...
The Miserable Mill (A Series of Unfortunate Events #4)
8.1
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"The Baudelaire orphans looked out the grimy window of the train and gazed at the gloomy blackness...
childrens fiction lemony snicket
All the Dirty Parts
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From bestselling, award-winning author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), a gutsy, exciting novel...
Uptown Oracle (24 KP) rated The House of Mountfathom in Books
Jun 30, 2017
My favourite aspect was how alive the house felt as it was so full of magic. The House of Mountfathom seemed like another member of the family almost like it had a mind of it's own. There was so much time given to explaining the house, magic and family though, that it reduced the actual plot to the second half of the book.
The House of Mountfathom has a strong focus on family. The Mountfathom family are the protagonists of the book. The Order of Driochta are another kind of family. There's no romance subplot which was a big plus point for me.
Another thing was that the house was in Ireland. I cant think off the top of my head another book I've read based in Ireland. The introduction of both historical aspects and folklore was great. There's also a distinct discussion about class systems. The 'big houses' aka the upper class in Ireland are in trouble, including the Mountfathom house, even though they're trying to keep the peace.
A problem I had was the format seemed odd, I assume it would be best in a printed book. My kindle seemed to push everything together and it was difficult to discern between chapters. The illustrations would have also worked much better within a book. Since this was an e-ARC though, I wouldn't take that into account.
Another problem is the book doesn't seem quite finished. Understandable as Nigel McDowell passed away in February. Although the ambiguous ending does give something towards the mysterious aspect of the book as a whole.
I really enjoyed how McDowell described the hows of magic. The first part of the book follows Luke as he grows up and learns magic. The five principles are distinct in how Luke learns them. I would compare The House of Mountfathom to Lemony Snicket and Neil Gaiman's Coraline. It was a bit dark and creepy in places. Full of intrigue and magic.
Rooftoppers
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This is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and...
Dana (24 KP) rated Furthermore (Furthermore, #1) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
I love that Tahereh Mafi wrote a middle grade book. I don't often read this age group, but because it was hers, I went for it and oh my goodness I was not disappointed. Even though it's a middle grade book, maybe even because of it, the story is able to get super deep and promotes the idea that you are enough as you are, no matter what you look like or what you have. I think that's super important for students during this time.
It is amazing how much one person's writing style is able to change based on the story they are telling. Tahereh, I feel, is very much a method writer in the fact that she really inhabits the characters and their worlds as she is writing them. I really appreciate that as a reader because it makes the stories more immersive and entertaining!!
I loved the nonsensicalness of the story. It is very reminiscent of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland, but it doesn't blatantly copy what he wrote. While they both have lands in which nonsense rules, they are still different beings.
Alice is so freaking sassy and I love it. The insults she throws throughout the story are hilarious, my favorite being "overgrown pineapple" because why not?
Also, the author asides are almost at a Lemony Snicket level of commentary. And the chapter breaks are so random, but I love them. There are so many interjections that are hilarious.
I love this adventure story so much! It focuses a lot of the growth of friendships and of the characters themselves which, again, is something I think middle grade readers need to see more of.
This book is actually very emotions as well! It shows a child's view of her parents and that everyone, even parents, can make mistakes and should be able to apologize for those mistakes. The characters are very well written and are amazingly deep. I haven't read many middle grade novels recently, but this one seems especially awesome. It shows people as having flaws and making bad decisions.
I recommend that everyone reads this at some point because it is just so freaking amazing and so quotable!!
I'm going to post some of my favorite quotes after this, so if you don't want to read them, stop here!!
"Love had made her fearless, wasn't it strange? It was so much easier to fight for another than it was to fight for oneself." (p144)
"'And his sentence was very long,' said Oliver.' 'Oh yes, it was made up of many words!'" (p231) (This one made me cackle)
"He never let her win, never let her convince him she was right. He fought harder for her than she ever fought for herself." (p250)
"This new Alice was confident and bold; she was articulate and passionate; she had become the kind of person who'd lived through hardship and survived with grace." (p382)
<b>"The simple truth was that Alice would always be different-but to be different was to be extraordinary, and to be extraordinary was an adventure. It no longer mattered how the world saw her; what mattered was how Alice saw herself." (p385)</b>